No hype, just the reality behind the appearances relating to small-everything in and around Albany, New York by a native of the place. Some of it pure opinion but all of it written in the spirit of Truth, good facts-based journalism and freedom of expression!

Category Archives: Paul Tonko

The RCS Community Library under the direction of Judith Wines is doing a pretty fantastic job of getting some really interesting programs out to the community. In fact, when requested, we published the public information on an unusual but apparently very interesting and needed program that’s found a home at the RCS Community Library, Thanatology Café, a program that offers the opportunity to talk about death, dying, grief, mourning and death-related subjects.

We’ve read a pretty nice post on the Thanatology Café blogthat is complimentary of the RCS Community Library and it’s staff, and we really think RCS should take note of the fine work the RCS Community Library is doing for the community.

Our more than 300,000 readers know well that we have no qualms about being outspoken when it comes to our community and the Ravena News Herald, but truth be told the Ravena News Herald and editor Melanie Lekocevic apparently have been generously supportive of the library and the Thanatology Café program, if our observations are correct. Fair is fair and when the News Herald is on the up and up, we want to be the first to say Nice job!Thank you!

BUT…

Churches, Funeral Homes, First Responders

We do have some disturbing information though and we have verified it factually. Here we have an innovative program, Thanatology Café, sponsored by a reputable and highly-respected community organization, the RCS Community Library, and even getting the support of the Ravena News Herald but WTF!!!!!We have information that about 100 information packets were sent out to local churches and public service organizations, including fire departments, EMS, first responders, and police departments, including the Coeymans fire and rescue squad, the Ravena Hose Company, and the Coeymans Police Department, just to name a few, and it appears none of those organizations responded.

Local churches have their hands out for stipends whenever a local dies but almost every church in the area does not offer a bereavement education, a death awareness, or death education program…

What’s even worse is that the organizers (for the record the RCS Community Libraryhosts the program but does not organize it) invited local churches and pastors to announce the program and to post the attractive flyers to inform their congregations of the availability of the thanatology program, yet, according to the spokesperson for Thanatology Café, not a single one responded and there is no evidence that anyone from any of the local RCS churches bothered to attend the inaugural event. That does seem a bit strange to us and we’d like to hear from members of the congregations of local churches whether they even heard about the program from their so-called pastors. We find that strange because local churches have their hands out for stipends whenever a local dies but almost every church in the area does not offer a bereavement education, a death awareness, or death education program. We would think they’d jump at the opportunity to learn more about the program from the get go!

And you’d think that the local businesses that make a bundle of money from local deaths, Babcock Funeral Home and A.J. Cunningham Funeral Homes, both right down the street from the library, would seize the unique opportunity to join in the death education opportunities offered by a program like Thanatology Café but apparently Sharon Babcock and the A.J. Cunningham staff had better things to do than join in a community educational program. We’ll be keeping an eye on our local death industry, you can be assured of that. Both Babcock Funeral Home and A.J. Cunningham Funeral Homes were provided with special packets along with W.C. Brady’s Sons Funeral Home (Coxsackie) and several other regional funeral homes were provided with special packets and invitations. We have the documents and we have the questions, too, Why didn’t the local death businesses respond?

People are more aware, more interested and willing to discuss the subject, the options and the choices…death and dying, living wills, advance directives, and funeral and memorial options

We’ve done the online research and find that Death Cafes, Death Salons, discussion groups about death and dying, hospice and palliative care organizations, healthcare organizations, special interest groups dealing with infant death, suicide, traumatic death, etc. are thriving and growing because people are more aware, more interested and willing to discuss the subject, the options and the choices, and are not waiting til the last minute to learn as much as they can about death and dying, living wills, advance directives, and funeral and memorial options.

Are they scared that Thanatolgy Café might rock their comfy little boats…get people to ask the important questions?

Can our churches, first responders, funeral homes be so petty as to get involved in small-minded turf wars at your expense?

Petty, stupid turf wars?

So we’re getting interested now, too, but especially why local churches, who are constantly preaching about death and whatnot, and local first responders and rescue squads, who frequently have to deal with death, and in particular, why the three main death businesses, Babcock Funeral Home, A.J. Cunningham Funeral Homes, and W.C. Brady’s Sons Funeral Home are so silent when an important program comes to the area. Are they scared that Thanatolgy Café might rock their comfy little boats, stir up some good and reliable information in the community, get people to ask the important questions? Maybe. We have learned that the Thanatology Café program will be providing a lot of information on pre-arrangements, available options and choices, how to go about creating your living will or Advance directive, funeral and memorial choices and recommendations, and much, much more. Stuff you need to know no matter what your age and information you’re not likely to get anywhere else.

Don’t you think you’d be getting a better deal from church, rescue squad, senior center and funeral home if they were better informed about death, dying, surviving, and the choices and options you should have? Can our churches and so-called pastors, our community funded first responders, local funeral homes, who cash in on the community’s ignorance and lack of information, be so petty as to get involved in small-minded turf wars at your expense? Looks like it. But keeping their heads tucked up a dark, wet spot won’t do them any good. Let’s hear from them. Let’s hear from our readers.

Town of Coeymans andTown of New Baltimore

Town of Coeymans

No, we haven’t gone AWOL on our watch. We’re working on a story about how the Phil Crandall/Youmans/Dolan mob are screwing town of Coeymans taxpayers. Didn’t we hear Phil Crandall say something about cutting the costs of local government, blah, blah, blah?

Well, apparently disgraced former village justice Phil Crandall, Psycho-bully Youmans and Dithering-Tom Dolan don’t think that cost containment applies to their cronies they imported when they took office. We’re talking specifically about the alleged overtime Crandall’s administrative clerk Nita Chmielewski is collecting hand-over-fist. It seems that old Nita is incompetent and doesn’t know what she’s doing — as if she ever did; nothing seems to change in the in-crowd in Coeymans — and she’s collecting a bundle for her incompetence and ignorance. Wonder if Mr Crandall, Mr Youmans or Mr Dolan can explain why their cronies get the overtime, while the Coeymans Police Department is consistently saving on costs, economizing, and coming in under budget under the professional supervision of a competent chief?

A contributor has demanded the production of certain documents that will prove the corruption in Coeymans town hall and the hypocrisy of Mr Crandall and his cronies

Stay tuned for the fireworks!

Town of New Baltimore

There’s word out that something’s cooking in New Baltimore about the New Baltimore Supervisor of Highways and the Highways Department and indifference, negligence and dereliction of duty and responsibility.

Thanks to the double-dealing of the Greene County Independence Party Committee chairman George Ackerman and co-chairperson, Irene Beede, and their mismanagement of a very worthy candidate, Mr Alan vanWormer in the elections last November, Denis Jordan was re-elected by a single — Yes! 1 vote! — and despite the known corruption, crookedness, incompetence and ignorance that is the hallmark of his department, he didn’t go to jail but kept his office. But that’s New Baltimore and screwy-Louie politics run by incompetent political committees.

Do you actually think YOU elect these bozos?

We have information that a pretty big law suit is in the brewing that will be brought against the town of New Baltimore, the New Baltimore Highway Department and Denis Jordan for incompetence, negligence, and indifference by dereliction of duty and violation of applicable state laws. Seems Jordan’s friends get all the highway department services while others get the finger, and can watch their property values collapse because of poor road and drainage maintenance.

A collaborator is getting the information together and talking to the aggrieved parties and we’ll be the first to release the information.

We recently published an email sent by Nancy Warner to a local resident unlawfully denying him his rights to access information under the New York State Freedom of Information Law, and telling him he’s “wasting taxpayer money.” We pointed out in our article that Warner was way out of line and was the last one who should be telling anyone they’re wasting taxpayer money. Maybe Warner feels that stealing taxpayer money is better than wasting it, after all Nancy Warner knows how to do both. But back to the subject of this article:

RAVENA RESIDENT SLAMS NANCY WARNER

Ravena Resident Pokes Nancy Warner in the Eye. OUCH!

Far from being a trustee, Nancy Warner should be a “Trustless” but you can trust Warner to grab any moment to act like she’s mayor of Ravena. She’s not and this resident tells her so. Read on…

Dear Trustee Warner:

Thank you for your kind but inappropriate email response of 4/29/15. While you are entitled to your personal opinions, you would be well advised to avoid abrogating authorities to yourself that are not yours to exercise. You do not have the implied or explicit authority in your present purview to respond to or to deliberate unilaterally and independently of the Village Board on matters concerning the instant subject matter. Furthermore, you are egregiously overreaching any implicit or explicit authorities when you attempt to limit or to deny me the rights clearly established under the provisions of the New York State Pubic Officers Law (a.k.a. the NYS Freedom of Information Law or “F.O.I.L.”) and any such attempt, implicit or worse still explicit, as represented by your e-mail, may expose you and the Village of Ravena to investigation or even prosecution. Need I remind you at this point of the current investigation relating to the Village Board’s unlawful abuse of power in the [name redacted but it concerns the Ravena Planning Board] case? You need to learn to put a lid on it and to control your megalomaniac ego, Ms. Warner.

At the risk of repeating myself, you had no business whatsoever and no authority whatsoever to arrogantly assume a position not yours by responding unilaterally and without mandate to an inquiry not in your purview. You have repeatedly failed to provide any documentation on how my building went from four to five units. You have never provided documentation with my signature (since none exists), I have repeatedly questioned how and when I went to from four to five units, which is your (Village of Ravena) basis for my water/sewer billing. One has to wonder who you think you are. Better still, one has to remind you who you are; you tend to forget. You are an elected officer of the Village of Ravena and a servant of the residents and community of Ravena. You are nothing more but may be much less, depending on one’s perspective.

You were way out of line in your response to my email. (I was simply requesting who and when will the village attorney contact me from a previous e-mail sent from the village to me six weeks ago; in short a follow up). The Mayor, and Mr. Mahler and Mr. Coye are the trustees overseeing the water/sewer/building departments, and the zoning/planning boards respectively. When it is time to discuss any issue, I will contact them first. Obviously, you are not on those committees or boards and accordingly you have no business injecting yourself into matters concerning them unless explicitly invited to do so; you have not been so invited to my knowledge.

You appear to need a reminder that village elected officers and village staff have obligations and duties to the public under their oaths of office. This is undisputed fact and has been laid down clearly in town and village law, public officers law, administrative law, and yes, in criminal law. As you are aware, “misprision” requires one to report crime or a violation of law; you, especially as a public servant, are obligated to report unlawful or illegal activity or or risk prosecution yourself, even if that illegal or unlawful activity is your own. I realize that’s a very regrettable situation you may find yourself in but you yourself are to blame. Your history and record of abuse of office and abuse of citizens’ protected rights is long and documented. You would be well advised to cease and desist with immediate effect your unlawful interference and obstruction of other village employees in their diligent, even if it is somewhat clumsy, execution of their duties and responsibilities under the law. In other words, Ms. Warner, back off and butt out. Should I have an issue with village staff, I shall take it up with them on an informal amicable basis; as I have for the past 25 years. Should that approach fail, I shall address and discuss any such issues with the Chief Executive Officer of the Village of Ravena, the Mayor, who I believe continues to be Mr. William Misuraca, not YOU.

Should you have any questions regarding this communication, please do not hesitate to appropriately, that is, within the limits of your authority, to contact me. I shall be pleased to discuss anything you may find difficult to understand or impossible to grasp; simply send me a courteous, civil e-mail.

In the meantime, please accept my sincere appreciation of your most recent communication; I indeed appreciate it for what it is.

[Name withheld by request]

OUCH!!! You been had, Nancy Warner!!!

And BRAVO for you, Ravena resident and taxpayer!!! More of your neighbors should follow your example. Their lives might improve dramatically!

Bravo for You!Sock It to her!The Editor

18

Stay Tuned

We might be about to bust the Ravena Incest Club wide open!

We’re not done yet with the scandal behind the Ravena Health and Fitness Center and some of the unlawful finagling that went on using Ravena taxpayer money, public funds. We have a village of Ravena document that appears to split the village payment of $40,000 for the used fitness equipment for Cathy DELUCA’s pigpen. It appears that one check was made out to the NATIONAL BANK OF COXSACKIE in the amount of $18,000.00 and the other check was made out to Bob Fisk’s wife/concubine, Deborah FARHRBACH. But the Bill of Sale signed by Deborah FAHRBACH and notarized by Michael Biscone’s secretary, Sharon E. DEWSBURY, clearly states that Fahrbach and Fisk are the “legal owners of the equipment” and that there are “no liens or encumbrances” on the equipment. If all that is true and Deborah FAHRBACH wasn’t perjuring herself by making a false oath, something simply doesn’t add up here. Question is: if . was the seller of the used fitness equipment, why did two checks have to be made out? One was a check made out to the National Bank of Coxsackie and the other to Fahrbach? Michael BISCONE is the attorney for National Bank of Coxsackie (Ravena) and acts also as Ravena village attorney. Was Michael BISCONE Bob Fisk’s or Fahrbach’s attorney, too? Is that why Biscone’s secretary notarized the Bill of Sale for the used equipment? Could it be that Robert FISK (a Persico on his mother’s side) owed the NATIONAL BANK OF COXSACKIE a note on the equipment the bank manager — at the time, Donna BISCONE —, would look bad if there were a bad debt? If that were so, then Fahrbach did perjure herself when she stated that Fahrbach and Fisk were the legal owners and that there were no liens or encumbrances on the equipment. What if Fisk had IRS tax liens in 2000 and bad credit, and had to get out from and under what was owed? So they went to the “cookie jar” (Ravena taxpayers money) to get some honey-money? So do we have the PERSICO and BISCONE clans working together. Former mayor John T. BRUNO was hot on getting the RCS Community Library out of the building and in correspondence notes that his cousin, Josephine BRUNO (Prudential Realty), was brokering the deal. and was pushing to get the village of Ravena to get the equipment out of the building on 172 Main Street, Ravena. Nancy WARNER is a BISCONE, in addition to Donna BISCONE (retired); a National Bank of Coxsackie manager/director, Donald PERSICO, is apparently one of the PERSICO clan. Add Michael BISCONE, who is attorney for the village of Ravena AND for the National Bank of Coxsackie, and may have represented Bob FISK, too. But Fisk is related through is mother to the Persicos of Ravena, too. Looks like we might be on to something here. This is HOT! So stay tuned! We might be about to bust the Ravena Incest Club wide open! (Don’t relax yet, Jerry PERRINE, Larry CONRAD. We’re not done with you yet, either.)

Village of Ravena

Many of us have experienced the hell of trying to get the village of Ravena to cough up public access information using the so-call F.O.I.L. (Freedom of Information Law) process established under the New York State Public Officers Law. Nancy Warner and her minions, Annette Demitraszek and Kristine Biernacki. It was bad under the Bruno tyranny but not much has changed. They manage to either delay indefinitely, to forget, or to refuse to produce the information requested. Seems it doesn’t bother them that they are violating citizens’ rights to public information or that they are breaking the law.

Our recommendation to the resident who received Nancy Warner’s unprofessional and illicit e-mail: Tell Ms Warner she has no authority to have written any email addressing the resident’s specific inquiry. She is not a sitting member of any committee competent to respond nor is she in any official position to represent the village board on her own. She was out of order and out of bounds when she responded, and the resident should tell her in no uncertain terms that has no authority to have addressed the e-mail to the resident. In other words, the resident should tell Ms Warner to place her broad bottom on the sharp end of a tack; sit on it.

Nancy Warner’s Handling of Resident InquiriesHow the Village of Ravena Responds to F.O.I.L. Requests

Nor does it seem to bother them that they took oaths to serve the public, obey the law and to protect the Constitution. Mayor “Mouse” Misuraca is the village F.O.I.L. appeals officer, which means that he’s the one you have to rely on to overrule Nancy Warner and her sock puppets, Demitraszekand Biernacki, but he’s just a low-key kinda guy, not a hands-on leader. So that means you’re not getting your information.

We are fortunate to have received from one of our readers a recent e-mail received from Nancy Warner that clearly illustrates how she despises citizen’s rights and how she thinks she is servant to no one, least of all a resident of Ravena, and how snotty she responds to a resident’s inquires. Here’s what she writes:

Since I have a Village email address I suggest you use that when you send any emails to me regarding Village matters. I will not respond to any Village emails that come to any other address except that one.

With that said, I will address this one final time. You have had your unit situation for [redacted] Main Street explained to you, both in person & in writing, on several occasions dating back as far as when I was the Deputy Clerk-Treasurer for the Village. The Clerk’s office, the Mayor’s office & the Building Dept have all addressed this issue with you.

As far as I am concerned this matter is closed and no further discussion will be entertained by me. Please stop wasting the taxpayer’s money & the office staff’s valuable time by requesting information via FOIL that you have been given repeatedly.

Nancy Warner’s Motto

Well, Nancy Warner, we have reviewed the documents you and your office produced in response to the resident’s F.O.I.L. demands and what you and your “office staff” produced was rubbish, incomplete, and unintelligible in terms of responsible recordkeeping. While that didn’t surprise us in the least, we do have to remind you that you are a public servant, elected by some strange quirk of fate, and you don’t have choices in most of your duties and responsibilities. It’s not your little playpen, Nancy! (Your little pigpen, the Ravena Health and Fitness Center has been defunded, remember?)

As to your statement that you won’t respond: It is your duty and obligation to respond to any citizen’s or resident’s inquiries. You don’t have a choice, Nancy. If the resident pees his/her request in the snow and you read it it’s your duty and obligation to respond. So stop your arrogant twaddle, biatch! You’ll respond and you’ll like it!

What’s more, you’ll respond as many times as necessary. If a citizen or resident asks the same thing again it’s obvious you didn’t respond adequately in the first place. So you respond until the citizen or resident is satisfied he/she understands your explanation. That’s your duty and responsibility.

You make the big mistake of referring to the time when you were Deputy Clerk-Treasurer for the Village of Ravena

As a matter of fact, you make the big mistake of referring to the time when you were Deputy Clerk-Treasurer for the Village. That was a big mistake because most of the criminal activity and the poor recordkeeping began on YOUR WATCH, Nancy Warner! We’ve seen some of the garbage you have passed off as responses and documentation and it’s would make a third-grader look like a Philadelphia lawyer. Get with the program, Missy! You’re a public servant.

As far as you’re “concerned this matter is closed and no further discussion will be entertained by me” is totally incorrect. The matter isn’t closed because you want it to be. Not by a long shot. It’s closed when the matter is rectified, when the problem resolved. Who in hell do you think you are to tell a citizen or resident that you won’t entertain a citizen’s requests?

Cathy Deluca and her pigpenWhere’d the funding go, little piggies?

But the part of your e-mail, Ms Witch-on-a-Stick Nancy Warner is when you tell the resident to “please stop wasting the taxpayer’s money & the office staff’s valuable time.” That statement alone shows what a vile hypocrite you really are. But it also had to be the funniest statement you’ve made in your entire misspent life, but especially the stupidest statement you could have possibly have made as a trustee of the village of Ravena, a trustee who cannot be trusted to do what’s right for the people of Ravena, and the very trustee of the village of Ravena who ensured that her girlfriend, Cathy Deluca, got her own playpen (the “pigpen“) at taxpayer expense, the very trustee who spearheaded spending more than $40,000 on used fitness equipment from one of your insider friends, and the very untrusworthy trustee who ensured that the failed and now defunded Ravena Health and Fitness Center (a.k.a. Cathy’s pigpen), run into the ground by your girlfriend Cathy Deluca at taxpayer expense, got funded for two years, sending more than $200,000 of Ravena taxpayer dollars down the sewers. You should have thought of not wasting taxpayer money and office staff’s valuable time when you were doing your own damage to the village of Ravena, Nancy Warner!

Resident to Nancy Warner: Follow these directions:Take a walk!

New Baltimore

They ran promising transparency and accountability. What they are delivering is clear as mud and just as helpful.

Saved by the SmartPhone: What the Supervisor, Deputy Supervisor and a Greene County Sheriffs deputy apparently can’t see, the camera can! No denying that town of New Baltimore supervisor Nick Delisanti, sidekick “deputy supervisor” Jeff Ruso and a Greene County sheriff’s deputy really need to get their eyes — and ears — examined. And town of New Baltimore voters need to get their heads examined for electing this bunch of fruitcakes.

The situation: A public street in the National Historic District, Madison Avenue East, was blocked by a private contractor for extended periods on April 24 and 25, preventing access to the one-way street and the one-way streets connecting to it. No early notice of the closure was provided to residents on those streets. No signs were posted indicating safe detours. No flagmen were positioned to ensure safety. Residents had to navigate the one-way streets in the wrong direction to reach their homes. While going the wrong way on one-way streets the residents were at risk of accident and liability, not to mention ticketing should law enforcement have to investigate. Construction trucks were also using the streets. The town of New Baltimore was contacted regarding this unlawful and dangerous situation.

After several back-and-forth emails and several reminders, a New Baltimore Resident finally gets some answers, if you can call them answers. Here’s an example of New Baltimore town Supervisor’s responses to the resident’s questions regarding unlawful blocking of a public street in New Baltimore. These are the questions and Dellisanti’s answers.

Question: Was the town of New Baltimore notified of the tree removal operations?

Delisanti’s answer: No

Question: Is a permit required for such operations when they affect public transit?

Delisanti’s answer: Yes, block parties, parades, & street fairs.

Question: Is a permit required for operations that require closure of a public roadway?

Delisanti’s answer: Yes, block parties, parades, & street fairs.

Question: Is a permit required for redirecting traffic on a public roadway for private purposes?

Delisanti’s answer: Contact the Greene County Sheriffs office

Question: If a permit was required, was one applied for?

Delisanti’s answer: N/A

Question: If a permit was applied for and issued, when will the permit be available for inspection?

Delisanti’s answer: N/A

Question: What safety or monitoring precautions were provided by the town of New Baltimore during this operation?

Delisanti’s answer: Contact the Greene County Sheriffs office.

Question: If a permit were required and none was applied for and, consequently, none issued, what are the intentions of the town of New Baltimore to follow up on this matter?

Delisanti’s answer: N/A

Between those questions and receipt of the answers, the resident sent 4 other questions:

Question: Has anyone from the town visited the concerned area, specifically, has anyone from the town board or the Highway Department visited the area.

Delisanti’s answer: Yes, both Jeff Ruso & I went to the site; Deputy Superintendent Scott VanWormer went there after he finished with a multi – alarm fire on 9W in Coxsackie; he asked the contractor if any residents complained that the road was blocked & he said no; Scott asked him to open the road and he did.

Question: Has anyone from the town made inquiries as to who is doing the work and blocking off the streets, specifically, has anyone from the town board or the Highway Department made such inquiries since my initial notification?

Delisanti’s answer: Contractor was Jay Biel

Question: Has the town undertaken to involve law enforcement to investigate or to provide safety support during the operations going on on Madison Avenue East and in view of the traffic obstructions and diversions?

Delisanti’s answer: I had the Greene County Deputy Sheriff respond to Madison Ave East at 9:10am on 4/25. The Deputy Sheriff reported back that the trees and limbs were down & the road was open.

Question: What documentation is being kept of any response to any of my questions.

Delisanti’s answer: I have all of your e-mails & my responses on file.

After having received those remarkable responses the resident writes:

I’m sure that you can appreciate that the qualities of diligence, conscientiousness, honesty, integrity, and thoroughness are high on the list of qualities we might seek, expect in leaders. The fact that you state that you have all of my emails on file but manage to respond to a mere fraction of the questions posed does not bode well for your overall score 😉

So, New Baltimore residents, go on out and close your streets down, it’s legal in New Baltimore — at least according to your town of New Baltimore supervisor, Mr Nick Dellisanti. But don’t have all of those street fairs, parades, or block parties without getting a permit. Remember all those New Baltimore street fairs, parades and block parties we have so many of. DUH! And we understand there’s going to be a new local tax in New Baltimore, the Supervisor’s Vision Surcharge, which will be used for the town of New Baltimore supervisor’s and deputy-supervisor’s vision exams and corrective lenses to help them see construction trucks and traffic cones, providing, of course, they go down to inspect during normal work hours, before the workmen take off for the day.

GET A PAIR

And what’s this crappola about “Contact the Greene County Sheriffs office“? What’s that steaming pile of BS, Mr Dellisanti? Madison Avenue East is a town of New Baltimore roadway, your responsibility first, your highway department’s responsibility first, NOT THE GREENE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT’S!!! If anyone has to contact the Greene County Sheriff’s office it’s YOU, Mr Dellisanti! Get with the program. If you want to be supervisor and board member, start doing the job!

Speaking of doing the job. We understand New Baltimore Town Clerk Barbara Finke is again out of the office, on vacation for a month in Italy. Wasn’t there some talk about regular business hours for the New Baltimore Town Clerk and availability of the Town Clerk during those business hours? Seems Ms Finke is absent from the TC’s office more than she’s in; she’s taken more time off than she’s spend in the office. But wasn’t that the battle cry of the current New Baltimore town board and supervisor when Ms Brooks was town clerk? Seems the pot was calling the kettle black. But Mr Dellisanti’s motto is “Republicans appoint republicans.” And we’re not very happy when we feel we’ve been lied to. (We’ll be asking for Ms Finke’s attendance records by the FOIL process soon.)

And as for Mr Denis Jordan, New Baltimore town Highway Supervisor. He’s on vacation, too. But some time ago we learned that a laptop computer was purchased by the town of New Baltimore for Mr Jordan, to help him do his work. Well, it’s obviously not being used to keep records because in a recent response to a Freedom of Information Law demand for information, Mr Jordan’s department couldn’t cough up enough to choke a flea. So what’s Jordan using that computer for, anyway. We don’t expect anyone in New Baltimore Town Hall to know the answer to that one; after all, Jordan and town hall aren’t on speaking terms since the town board demanded their versions of transparency and accountability.

The Camera Doesn’t Lie

(but maybe the supervisor, deputy supervisor and a sheriff’s deputy do have a problem with truth-telling)

We’ve done a slideshow of the photos of the situation for your amusement:

For two days, Friday, April 24, 2015, and Saturday, April 25, 2015, a New Baltimore resident in the National Historic District was communicating with town of New Baltimore Supervisor Nick Dellisanti, and attempting to communicate with town of New Baltimore town clerk, Barbara Fink, about the fact that on those two days the one-way street Madison Avenue East was cordoned off with traffic cones, and on Saturday, in addition to the traffic cones, a large dump truck with an equipment trailer was blocking the street. This was obviously not town work being done, and it was not just closing the street for a reasonable time but for most of the day.

It was obvious that some trees were being taken down but what was also obvious was that there were no signs directing traffic, no flagmen, no safety precautions whatsoever. This was private elective work being done by a private contractor, and so the obvious questions that popped up was: Was the town of New Baltimore administration aware of this? Are these people authorized to close a public street and to redirect traffic. If so do they have a permit authorizing them to do so? Why were residents not informed? Who was liable for residents having to travel the wrong way on one-way streets for the two days, that being the only way they could get to their homes? We think it was reasonable to ask such questions and to get some clear, unabiguous answers from town supervisor Dellisanti or one of his minions. We were wrong.

The resident first fired off an e-mail to the town of New Baltimore clerk, Ms Barbara Finke, copying town supervisor Nick Dellisanti. The email reads:

Dear Clerk:

Today, on April 24, 2015, tree removal on the Northeast, corner of Rt 144 and Madison Avenue East, the Boyd property, has been going on since this morning.

On return from an appointment I found that Madison Avenue East was closed and blocked off with traffic cones, preventing access to New Street. In order to access New Street and home, I had to drive opposite to the direction of one way traffic on either Madison Avenue East or on New Street. There were obvious liability, safety, not to mention legal considerations when doing this.

I have several questions that require answers immediately:

(1) Was the town of New Baltimore notified of the tree removal operations?

(2) Is a permit required for such operations when they affect public transit?

(3) Is a permit required for operations that require closure of a public roadway?

(4) Is a permit required for redirecting traffic on a public roadway for private purposes?

(5) If a permit was required, was one applied for?

(6) If a permit was applied for and issued, when will the permit be available for inspection?

(7) What safety or monitoring precautions were provided by the town of New Baltimore during this operation?

(8) If a permit were required and none was applied for and, consequently, none issued, what are the intentions of the town of New Baltimore to follow up on this matter?

Thank you for your a.s.a.p. response.

Please confirm receipt of my below message.

Thank you!

Supervisor Dellisanti wrote back:

“I am in receipt of your e-mail and will get back to you as soon as I get the answers to your questions. Barb Finke is on vacation this week, so I will get back to you.

Nick Dellisanti “

The resident hadn’t heard from Dellisanti but at around 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2015, reported to Dellisanti:

“Good morning:

“Again, today, on April 25, 2015, at 7:30 a.m. the street is blocked by traffic cones on the Madison Avenue East/Rt 144 one-way end. There are no signs, no flagmen, no indications of detours. The only access to Madison Avenue and New Street is opposite to the posted one-way traffic.

” Since I have not heard from you since my timely notification of April 24, 2015, and your response that you would get the answers to the questions I made, I have several additional questions that I would like addressed:

” 1) Has anyone from the town visited the concerned area, specifically, has anyone from the town board or the Highway Department visited the area.

2) Has anyone from the town made inquiries as to who is doing the work and blocking off the streets, specifically, has anyone from the town board or the Highway Department made such inquiries since my initial notification?

3) Has the town undertaken to involve law enforcement to investigate or to provide safety support during the operations going on on Madison Avenue East and in view of the traffic obstructions and diversions?

4) What documentation is being kept of any response to any of my questions.

” I have photographs of the situation if you require them.

” I may take the opportunity to have my observations published and to address the New Baltimore town board on this issue after having announced the presentation.

Looking forward to a satisfactory explanation for this situation.”

Did they or didn’t they need a permit to block the street for two days?

Following that, Dellisanti writes back:

“Good morning. As an update, yesterday I contacted our Highway Department. Superintendent Jordan is out of town, but his deputy, Scott VanWormer said he is not aware of any permits that the homeowner is required to get from the town. I am still waiting for a response from our building inspector , and I’ve contacted the Deputy Sheriff to make an inspection this morning.

“As soon as I get a report from the Deputy Sheriff, I will get back to you.

“Nick Dellisanti “

and

“At 9:10am the Deputy Sheriff reported to me that the tree job is complete and the road is open.

Deputy Supervisor Ruso did stop by last night and he did say that the road was open and wood was piled up on the homeowners lawn.

“Thank you,

“Nick Dellisanti”

To which, the now perturbed, that is, pissed off resident replies:

Well, Nick, it appears the town of New Baltimore administration has fallen flat on its arse…again. You guys operate expecting to see the Easter Bunny and see Santa Claus instead, then concluding that there’s no Easter Bunny. You guys may not get it but it’s a matter of timing! You have to look for the Easter Bunny at Easter; if you look in December, you’re likely to see Santa Claus.

The question is not to investigate after the incident! You investigate when the incident is reported. If that’s how local law enforcement is going to perform, we need some changes, maybe starting with the Greene County Sheriff! Another example: When the burglary is reported we expect law enforcement to respond, not to react the day after and report that they found that no one was in the building, then concluding there was no intruder and hence no burglary. Do you follow this line of reasoning?

The point is that on two days the road was blocked off. I posed some very specific questions that I want answered; not a piss-poor report like “Well the dog was not barking when I drove by on Sunday while inspecting the parks.” (Remember that one?) Or Mr Tanner’s famous one, “I went by x times butt didn’t see a dog or hear any barking when I drove by. You’ll have to sign a complaint.” Well, when Mr Tanner finishes his shift with the DOT and just happens to drive by, it’s likely he may not find the dog outside because the owners are home from their outing!!!!

I’m getting the impression that the current New Baltimore town board elected last year is a one-term group; actually I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a one-term group judging by some of the performance. I can only work with what you hand me, Nick.

Excuses or explanations for not being able to respond like the Highway Super is on vacation or the Clerk is on vacation or ‘The lights are on but nobody’s home” does not speak well for performance. From my office window, I still see people driving up Madison Avenue East the wrong way on the one-way street. Can you tell me what’s wrong with this picture? Give it a shot. I know you can figure it out.

Please answer my specific questions and I’ll take it from there. Or don’t answer my specific questions and I’ll take it from there.

Wishing you all the best,

No sooner had the resident hit the send key than he observed several vehicles moving up Madison Avenue East going the wrong way on the one way street; several of these were residents. The only conclusion to be drawn was that they could not get down Madison Avenue East. So what’s Dellisanti and his sheriff’s deputy talking about one wonders? The resident writes:

“No sooner said than done!

” The white stump removal telescope truck just drove the wrong way up Madison Avenue East!!!!

” Now, that[‘s] safety in the National Historic District!

” I really need better answers from you, Nick.

” Thanks very much.

followed by:

“At 1:18 p.m., Madison Avenue East in the National Historic District is still blocked by traffic cones and a large trailer/dump truck apparently used to transport excavation equipment. There are no detour signs, no flagmen. Residents are being observed traveling up the wrong way on the one-way streets. What precautions are being taken to control/monitor this situation and to safeguard the safety and liabilities of residents being forced to find alternate routes, forced to ignore traffic safety postings, and forced into potential liability situations?”

and then by:

“The report you allegedly received from the deputy sheriff is grossly incorrect. This is obvious by the continuing work being done, the heavy equipment blocking Madison Avenue East and the traffic cones. Please provide the name of the deputy sheriff providing you with the grossly inaccurate report and the source of the information he received and reported to you.”

and finally by:

“Did Mr Ruso expect, when he stopped by “last night” that the workmen and the equipment would still be there? A bit idiotic, I’d say. They usually quite at around 4:30 or earlier, similar to most such occupations on a Friday. They returned on Saturday morning at around 8:30.”

This is an example of the kind of runaround a resident gets when there is clearly a problem in the Hamlet. There’s a sort of imbecilic reasoning going on in the heads of members of the town of New Baltimore board members and officers — and these characters were elected to replace the last bunch of fruitcakes — that qualify them for what the pestilence of New Baltimore, Cut-and-Paste Joan R., calls “Newbaltimorons.”

Dellisanti, Ruso: No obstruction on Madison Avenue East. Hey, man! Did you see that flying pink bison just go by? Freaky, man!

So the message the town of New Baltimore supervisor Dellisantiand his “deputy supervisor” Jeff Ruso, together with the statement of “deputy” highway superintendent Scott VanWormer is that you can block hamlet streets whenever you like for as long as you like and you don’t need a permit. Furthermore, you can do it and the New Baltimore town supervisor Nick Dellisanti will send his “deputy supervisor” as some time during the night to verify that there’s no obstruction, and they’ll send a sheriff’s deputy who will report that there’s no work going on and the street’s clear. The real message is that we have either a bunch of pathological liars or psychopaths totally separated from reality occupying New Baltimore town hall and the Greene County Sheriff’s substation in the town hall. Either that or they think that residents in New Baltimore are either abysmally stupid or smoking whacky-weed and hallucinating. Whichever the real situation is, it is grave indeed for New Baltimore.

Give us a freakin’ break, Dellisanti!The EditorYou know, Nick, the one who’s holding your feet to the fire.

Village of Ravena

Those of you who still read the Ravena News Herald will have learned that the Village of Ravena Board has not included funding for the Ravena Health and Fitness Center for the 2015-16 budget year. We’d like to congratulate the Village of Ravena Board for that decision but we’d rather ask Why did it take them so long?The scandalous conspiracy hatched by village board member Nancy Warner and now three-time-fitness-failure Cathy Deluca should have been defunded as soon as the Misuraca administration moved in. Why wasn’t it? Months ago Misuraca admitted that the makeshift fitness center was hemorrhaging taxpayer dollars to the tune of more than $6,000 a month! Why the delay? The board could have resolved to close it almost immediately!

For nearly two years now we’ve been demanding that the money-pit Ravena Health and Fitness Center be closed. We’ve published our reasons for that demand, including the fact that it was an insider job from the start, the fact that the decisions were made behind closed doors without public input, the fact that $40,000 of taxpayer money was paid to a “friend of village hall” for used fitness junk. Worse still, the scandalous and fraudulent paperwork that went in to get Cathy Deluca her non-competitive civil service title as fitness center manager led to the resignation of the then director of Albany County Civil Service, but it didn’t stop Cathy Deluca from faking her way into pocketing more than $30,000 a year plus full benefits for the past two years.

So now what? Well, we’d like to see Cathy Deluca and Nancy Warner prosecuted for the huge fraud they perpetrated on the taxpayersin the village of Ravena. We’d like to see the culprits pay back every cent they practically stole from village of Ravena residents.

But now that we’re at least $240, 000 in the hole thanks to Nancy Warner and Cathy Deluca, what’s the village gonna do with the equipment Warner and Deluca purchased from Bob Fisk? Certainly won’t bring $40,000 or even half that amount in a garage sale. Maybe Cathy Deluca will put in a bid for her next health and fitness center she’ll run into the ground. That’ll be the fourth one. Before she ran the Ravena Health and Fitness Center into oblivion at taxpayer expense, she had managed two previous ones into failure. But she was the pick to manage the Ravena Health and Fitness Center! How in hell did that happen? Ask Nancy Warner.

So now what’s Cathy Deluca, 3x-failure going to do. Let’s hope that Mr Misuraca and his village board don’t make the mistake of giving her a job with the village or something as stupid as that.

In our last article we discussed among other things, fire hydrants in Ravena-Coeymans, and Mr Henry Traver. You need to read that article.

But you’ll have to show that the double and triple dipping has stopped, Misuraca.

We are informed, however, that the Village of Ravena provisional budget, while eliminating funding for the Ravena Health and Fitness Center, apparently gives Mr Traver a pay raise from his current $52,000+ salary to what appears to be $63,000+!!! Is that how Mr Misuraca intends to streamline his village spending? No, dear readers, that’s how he’s steamrolling Ravena taxpayers with a Halfway House bar-room smoke and mirrors act! If that’s true, we really need to get on Misuraca’s back and start beating up the Ravena Village Board to justify such an outrageous increase for such a dolt.

Henry Traver’s 2010 MugshotAfter his arrest by Coeymans Police for allegedly torching his own house. Misuraca’s board is now upping this dunce’s salary in the 2015-16 Ravena budget from $52,000 to $63,000 plus benes! WTF?!?!?!

Finally, we had to chuckle when we read that one of Misurac’s plans was to ‘consolidate some services within and across departments.’ We hate to burst Mayor Mouse’s bubble or steal his thunder but that’s what the corrupt Ravena administrations of the past had been doing all along. Everybody worked everywhere and got paid by everybody. No big news in Ravena! But you’ll have to show that the double and triple dipping has stopped, Misuraca, and you’ll have to hold your employees’ feet to the fire to explain why some of them, while employed by the village of Ravena, hold several other jobs, as well (right Sandy Debacco?). Can you explain that rationale, Mr Mayor?

What good are “flat rates” when you have no way of knowing what you’re paying for????

We didn’t chuckle when we read about Misuraca’s attempt to “keep water and sewer rates flat” so that “residents should not expect a rate increase under the current proposal.” That’s nice, Mr Mayor but we do want to ask that when you keep the rates “flat”, in your terms, when will the Village of Ravena be able to start billing equitably and fairly, when will the Village of Ravena have uniform and transparent billing policies, procedures, and documentation for water and sewerage. “Flat rates” sounds real pretty but what good are “flat rates” when residents still have no way of knowing what they’re paying for???? Kinda stupid, if you ask us! So, Mr Mayor and Ravena village boardmembers, perhaps you should start looking at how you’ve been billing and perhaps you should stop bullshitting Ravena residents and provide clear, transparent documentation on what they’re being billed for. Think were kidding? This is no joke, Misuraca, and we’ll be publishing some documents soon to show just how idiotic and unlawful village of Ravena billing practices are and have been for decades. Get real, Misuraca, and get to work, real work!

Town of Coeymans

For years now, we’ve been demanding that the Town of Coeymans eliminate the Coeymans Police Department. Why? Because it was a nest of perverts, corrupt dirty so-called law enforcement officers, and had the reputation for fairness and community spirit that made Attila the Hun look like a pussy cat. Totally corrupt, totally bully, totally bad! But then Gerald “Dirty-Hands Jerry” Deluca jumped ship as did his darling Gregory “Dumplin'” Darlington and their very own blond bimbo, Danielle “Humpy” Crosierand a couple of others either were terminated or chose to resign. All of a sudden citizen complaints stopped. We didn’t hear much more about police bullying, retaliation, intimidation, harassment.

Let’s support Chief McKenna and let’s hope that he and his staff can become more visible now that temperatures rather than tempers are getting warmer.

Then the town board appointed Peter J. McKenna to be interim police chief. Things really started to look rosy. They have a decent guy in the driver’s seat now who knows how to navigate the rough waters of professional law enforcement under the supervision of amateur politicians (the Coeymans town board). McKenna seems to be doing a great job. But we do feel he and his staff need to get more into the community and make themselves visible as real public servants. They need to get out there and topple the image of the Coeymans Police Department as a nest of thugs, and realize the picture of the CPD as friends of the community, as partners in improving the community’s life. Let’s support Chief McKenna and let’s hope that he and his staff can become more visible now that temperatures rather than tempers are getting warmer. Can you accept the challenge, Chief McKenna!

We’ve always advocated that the Coeymans Police Department be downsized to a contingent of liaison and education staff. As liaison, an experienced chief like McKenna could foster and promote positive collaborative relations with the Albany County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Police; as an education force in the community, McKenna and a small handful of ethical, community-spirited law enforcement officers could do wonders in this community. We have also urged very strongly that the flotsam and jetsam in the department be terminated; this means that the unnecessary dispatchers need to be pink-slipped.

Well, after all of our ranting and writing, the town of Coeymans appears to be waking up and taking some positive action in this regard. It looks like the dispatch operations will be taken over by the Albany County Sheriff’s Department, where they should have been all along. By our reckoning that means a savings of more than $100,000 of Coeymans taxpayer dollars. Maybe now the Coeymans town board can pay Chief McKenna a decent salary.

New Baltimore

There’s a storm brewing in New Baltimore and it’s centering on none other than it’s elected town Highway Supervisor, Mr Denis Jordan. Readers will recall our recent article on Jordan’s record-keeping or lack thereof — but former town supervisor Susan O’Rorke and her board (which included the widgets Lisa “Giggles” Benway and Chris “Whacko” Norris) felt Jordan needed a laptop to do his job (porn surfing?), and the fact that few if any records are kept regarding the operations of the New Baltimore Highway Department. Jordan allegedly does a lot of favors for locals and that ensures his job. But he allegedly does it at taxpayer expense, too. That’s illegal and the allegations must be investigated. The New Baltimore town board may have been unaware of Jordan’s alleged indirect vote-buying — But how could they be? — but now we are putting the New Baltimore Town Board on public notice of the allegations circulating that Denis Jordan has misused his office and misappropriated public property. Furthermore, Denis Jordan has allegedly attempted to cover up his and his department’s involvement in an incident that has remained covered up until recently, in which a Greene County employee was injured and rendered incapable of working by the action of a Town of New Baltimore Highway Department employee who, reports say, has a reputation for careless operation of town vehicles. This accident occurred during Susan O’Rorke’s watch but she managed to conceal it from the public. Now the town of New Baltimore is having trouble finding an insurance company willing to cover the town. Thanks Ms O’Rorke! Thanks Mr Jordan!

We’ve also reported on Jordan’s questionable employee relations and how he demoted his deputy once Jordan found out he was thinking of running against Jordan. We think that elected officials who feel so secure in their jobs that they can openly retaliate against the democratic process should get the brown boot treatment; voters or a prosecutor should kick their asses right out of office.

The two democrap administrations, under Louis and O’Rorke, that preceded the present Dellisanti Republican board were absolutely corrupt and inept.

There comes a time when we have to admit he has to go!

But when a former supervisor, the likes of David Louis, partner of the notorious New Baltimore chairman of the now scandalized democrapparty, Diane Louis, has the gall to stand up in Jordan’s defense, we really want to start up-chucking. The fact is that the two democrap administrations that preceded the present Republican team were absolutely corrupt and inept. While David Louis‘ name was on the supervisor’s office door, it was obvious that Diane Louis, then David Louis’ “confidential secretary” — now wasn’t that cozy, his wife as his confidential secretary, protecting him from any possible harmful testimony —, was pulling an awful lot of strings. Back then we figured she was pushing for David to go into state level politics; making her a local democrap power dealer. Let’s hope that’s been trashed!

While we have some very serious reservations about the current New Baltimore Town Board, we think that David Lewis has no place calling the kettle black. The only worst hypocrisy would be for Susan O’Rorke to start criticizing the current board.

To be very honest, we’d encourage readers to decide for themselves what’s going on on the streets and roads of New Baltimore. From where we’re sitting it’s just pitiful. Snow removal isn’t the major criterion that we use. We’re looking at the condition of the infrastructure, the quality of the roadwork done and how long it lasts, whether the work done accomplishes the fundamental purpose for which it was done. How much waste in terms of materials and human resource hours?

You can actually watch the water running into the foundations of the properties, where it then freezes, heaves, and destroys the foundations

We’ve already published numerous calls for action citing the waste that we’ve observed just in terms of filling potholes improperly. Tens of thousands of New Baltimore tax dollars have been misspent on storm drains that simply don’t work. On several Hamlet streets there are no storm drains and at least two properties in the National Historic District have been rendered unusable because of the lack of drains or even culverts; during a rain, storm or during a thaw you can actually watch the water running into the foundations of the properties, where it then freezes, heaves, and destroys the foundations. That’s what we look at, Mr Dellisanti, and that’s where Mr Jordan has failed us. But you offer peanuts you get monkeys. And if those monkeys make too many friends with their antics, you get Denis Jordans re-elected and we’re stuck literally in the mud.

Mr David Louis, you had your chance to make a positive mark on this community and, well, you failed. Your successor was no better and if it could be worse, it was under Susan O’Rorke. Dellisanti and Ruso are no prizes but they don’t need your backstabbing but could use some collaboration from past elected officials. As for your relationship with Denis Jordan, Mr Louis, perhaps if you had some vision and some balls when you were supervisor, we wouldn’t be facing these problems now.

We mentioned the concealment of a motor vehicle accident that occurred in 2013 during Susan O’Rorke’sadministration, and involving an employee of the New Baltimore Highway Department. The report is that an employee of the New Baltimore Highway Department, who allegedly has a reputation for careless operation of town vehicles, was involved in an accident in which a Greene County employee was injured so severely that he still has not been able to return to work. That GC employee is now suing the town of New Baltimore. It further appears that O’Rorke and Denis Jordan were somewhat successful at covering up the seriousness of this situation until recently. At a recent public meeting of the Town of New Baltimore town board, S. vanEtten was reporting on the problems in getting insurance coverage for the town of New Baltimore, and she mentioned the accident. Of course, Lisa Benway and Chris Norris were boardmembers at the time and were/are privy to the facts but didn’t see fit to do their duty and keep the present board informed; Benway and Norris preferred to be speed bumps. While vanEtten was reporting, Lisa Benway sat there giggling like a retard, as if she knew something but wasn’t saying. When Dellisanti/vanEtten asked her about it, Benway refused to share anything. Norris sat there grinning like a moron. When supervisor Dellisanti asked Benway about the facts, Benway stated that she is in the business and cannot disclose confidential information.

What Ms “Giggles” Benway and “Grimace” Norris seem to have forgotten is that they are elected boardmembers sworn to serve this community; they don’t have the option of telling or not telling when this community is at risk. We have a beef with supervisor Dellisanti, too. What he should have done at that meeting was adjourn the public session, retire to a back office for an “executive session,” ask Benway, Norris and Jordan about the situation, and if Benway, Norris and/or Jordan insisted on confidentiality, fine, it doesn’t go public at this time, but they have to share their information. But if Benway or Norris or Jordan refused to share that information with supervisor Dellisanti, then Dellisanti upon resuming the public session, should have announced publicly either that Benway and/or Norris and/or Jordan shared the facts but because of the litigation the facts must remain confidential OR announced publicly that Benway and/or Norris and/or Jordan refused to share the facts with the chief executive of the town of New Baltimore, and that they chose to deprive the town board of the necessary opportunity to be as informed as possible of an imminent and serious threat to the town of New Baltimore and its residents. Lisa “Giggles” Benway, Christopher “Grimace” Norris, and Denis Jordan have a duty and an obligation to safeguard the interests of this community, placing any other interests on a lower shelf, including whatever business they’re in. Mr Dellisanti, Ms vanEtten: You’ve been had. Benway and Norris embarrassed you in public session. You had the chance, Mr Dellisanti, to show leadership and take control, even to embarrass Benway, Norris, and Jordan, showing the public what dildos they really are — but you fell short and missed a gem of an opportunity. While it seems Benway, Norris and Jordan have their priorities terribly confused, Dellisanti has to learn how to use his authority and his majority (before it’s too late).

In the meantime, while we’re pumping the water that flows past the storm drains out of our basements or watching our buildings collapse, and while we’re watching the streets crumble and the stone get washed into our garages, we need to start looking at efficiency, competency, and professionalism in our town departments. Cuts can be made, waste must be cut, but we also need staff who know how to do the work or its all lost.

Now that New Baltimore town boardmember and sidekick to supervisor Dellisanti, Jeff Ruso, has visited this blog several times to read what we have to say, we’d like to know what Ruso or Dellisanti or the board has to say for themselves. How about it, Jeff? Or do you prefer lurking to responding?

More Waste. More Waste. When will Ravena-Coeymans taxpayers finally wake up?!? We keep rubbing your noses in the bullshit you seem to be blind to, and you still bend over asking for more! What’s the matter with you people?

We recently reported on the problem with multiple non-working or deficient fire hydrants in the Ravena-Coeymans community and the risk that situation posed to anyone living in the area. The village of Ravena and/or the town of Coeymans regularly read this blog and apparently got the message that they need to move their fat asses and get those fire hydrants working. But, business as usual in Ravena-Coeymans, they sent out crews to “repair” the hydrants but no sooner were they “repaired” than they started leaking! Here’s what a local resident reports to us in an e-mail:

“[expletive] [expletive] [expletive] The one hydrant you took a picture of…This morn I’m walking the dog, and see village people [village employees] working on it, and so I walk the dog another street. OK. 15 minutes ago I walk the dog by it [the same fire hydrant] on Railroad Ave, and it’s leaking from top to sides and bottom …….Great repair job Henry[Traver]!”

Hydrant-in-a-Body-Bag

We can’t or won’t print the words we replaced with [expletive] but we think you can guess what the resident had to say. But we do know that there’s a sort of connection between Mr Henry Traver and fire hydrants. Here’s what WNYT published in April 2010:Coeymans Town Supervisor in jail for arson (WNYT, April 2010). And the Albany Times Union also reported the same thing in the article, Coeymans town supervisor faces arson charge (Times Union, April 15, 2010), which reads in part:

“Nearly two years after allegedly torching his house, Town Supervisor Henry Traver was arrested Wednesday on an arson charge that could put him in prison for up to 15 years.“Town Clerk Diane Millious said Wednesday night she was stunned to learn of Traver’s arrest from a reporter.“I didn’t know any of this was going on, honest to God,” she said, noting she had seen Traver only a few hours before he was arrested. She estimated that he earns in the neighborhood of $45,000 a year as a part-time supervisor and said he also works for the Highway Department in the village of Ravena. He has held that position for between 15 and 20 years…”

But please note the “allegedly” in the above report. Since Traver’s property was uninsured and that “there was no apparent motive” for the Traver’s burning down the house he was living in, it seems Traver narrowly escaped a felony charge and prison. But that slill leaves the glaring question why a Ravena Highway Department employee and former elected town of Coeymans supervisor would burn his own uninsured house down. But that’s Coeymans for you. (Click this link to go to the TU story, Coeymans town supervisor faces arson charge)

It seems that our elected officials are a bunch of morons. Yes, retards. Driving down Rt 144 we see new warning signs and orange flags that weren’t there before the geniuses on the town of Coeymans board decided to let Carver Laraway have his way with this community and ensure his wealth (not ours) by installing the Carver Laraway Memorial Bridge and the creation of Coeymans Industrial Park Lane. Before the corruption…Oops! We meant “construction” of the bridge, there were NO “Trucks” signs and No orange danger flags. It seems that with the town of Coeymans’ approval of the construction of the bridge, the reasoning, and the creation of Coeymans Industrial Park Lane, the town of Coeymans also created, with Carvery Laraway’s greed and money, a new hazard, a new danger for local residents. After all, if the warning signs and flags weren’t there before it would mean that the town of Coeymans was indifferent to a danger to life-and-limb of residents and were just ignorant; otherwise we have to conclude that the danger didn’t exist before but has recently been created. Now that’s good government and competent elected officials for you. Put your constituents at greater risk; it’s for the good of the community.

Be honest! No jobs have been created! Truth be told, Flach and Laraway are killing jobs and opportunities!

We have a question for Mr Stephen Flach and his band of flying widgets, the Coeymans town board: Can you tell this community how many permanent jobs were created by Carver Laraway’s projects? Let us be a bit clearer: How many permanent jobs were created by the Coeymans Industrial Park and the Port of Coeymans for persons livingin the communities of Ravena and Coeymans? How many, Mr Flach? How many Mr Misuraca, mayor of the village of Ravena?

And here’s one for those morons who keep repeating that Cathy Deluca’s playpen, the moneypit Ravena Health and Fitness Center, is good for the community, that it brings outside persons to the area and to the local businesses. OK. Let’s ask Mr Aaron Flach, nephew of Coeymans town supervisor Stephen Flach, how many jobs he’s created. Take for an example Flach’s laundromat and car wash on 9W, in the village of Ravena. Well Mr Flach, let us ask you this:

Now that you’ve closed the only dry cleaning establishment in Ravena-Coeymans, where do you think the dry cleaning business is going? Answer: to Glenmont and to Coxsackie. Nothing comparable in Ravena-Coeymans.

And, Mr Flach, what about the people you previously employed in the dry-cleaning business. Are they out on the street or did you create jobs for them elsewhere? Or did Carver Laraway hire them/

And, Mr Flach, what about the people who worked in the laundromat assisting patrons and trouble-shooting problems that occurred there. They’ve disappeared, too, Mr Flach. Now if you have a malfunctioning machine or another problem in the Flach laundromat you’re up shit creek without a paddle. But Aaron Flach still empties the coin boxes and turns a blind eye to his patrons. Business as usual in Flachville. The same level of service locals get from Ravena village hall and Coeymans town hall. Business as usual.

And, Mr Flach, when you did have employees to assist your customers, when your stone-age car wash malfunctioned or ate someone’s money, there were once attendants in the dry-cleaners who could help. Now what? Business as usual. Right Mr Flach?

So there you have it: Village of Ravena baboons wasting taxpayer money playing catch-up botching up the fire hydrant repairs. We’ve quoted the local morons (as reported by Bryan Rowzee in the Ravena News Herald) who claim that a failing business, the Ravena Health and Fitness Center, and its crook manager, Cathy Deluca, benefit the community because they bring people from elsewhere to Ravena to support local business. But then we have local businessman Carver Laraway and the town of Coeymans boardclaiming to create jobs but that’s just a smoke screen, they’ve created nothing but new hazards; and we have Mr Aaron Flach actually firing people and downsizing while downgrading services to the local community.

Now we’re not suggesting that a business owner doesn’t have the right to do what he likes with his business but we are suggesting that if a business owner is hurting the community or its residents, he needs to be set right. We’re also suggesting that those who think that Ravena-Coeymans is attracting so many visitors to the local businesses because of losers like the Ravena Health and Fitness Center should take a course in math. They should also shut their mouths and open their eyes to reality of the economic situation in Ravena-Coeymans. Aaron Flach and the phoney jobs offered by Carver Laraway are just two examples of the scandalous practices in Ravena-Coeymans.

Hasn’t anyone else noticed any of this? Mr Bryan Rowzee, local reporter who’s supposed to be covering and reporting on events in Ravena-Coeymans for the Johnson Newspaper Group, publishers of the Ravena News Herald, seems to be sound asleep when it comes to anything newsworthy; seems all he can do his make nice-nice as an insider at the Ravena-Coeymans love fest! The Ravena News Herald is just a propaganda mill that some suckers are still paying $1 to read lies and fantasy reports.

The village of Ravena has had so much to hide for so long that it loses track of what it should hide and what it should make public. Nancy Warner and her minions do a pretty good job of violating the law when it comes to responding to demands for disclosure under the New York State Freedom of Information Law, especially when the request has to do with some of their pet projects like the Ravena Health and Fitness Center or their dealings with local attorneys like Michael Biscone. We thought the cloak and dagger games were over when William “Moose” Misuraca booted John Bruno out of the mayor’s office. But it seems it’s business as usual in Ravena village hall.

RAVENA CLERK’S OFFICE DISCLOSES PROTECTED PERSONAL INFORMATION

Hasn’t Anyone in the Village of Ravena Clerk’s Office Heard of the
1974 Privacy Act or of H.I.P.A., or Any of the Other Laws Protecting Privacy?

Ravena village “trustee” Nancy Warner and her minions Annette Demitraszek (Clerk-Treasurer) and Kristine Biernacki do their very best to keep things from the public, even when a lawful demand is made under the NYS F.O.I.L., but when they try to hide everything, they ultimately trip themselves up. This time they really did a great job of making fools of themselves and they shat right where they eat!

A local resident has turned papers over to us that s/he received in response to a demand for disclosure under the NYS Freedom of Information Law. The F.O.I.L. demanded documents relating to village of Ravena employees, their salaries, benefits, etc. The village of Ravena responded — very unusual indeed — by providing a number of printouts for village employees. The printouts were improperly redacted — normally protected information like social security account numbers, home addresses, etc. are removed from the documents — but not in this case.

The documents we have received show everything, clearly legible, including Employee No., Name, Address, Soc-Sec-No., Phone No., Department, Retirement No., and much more. Imagine this scenario: A criminal makes a F.O.I.L. request to the village of Ravena clerk’s office, Nancy Warner and her puppets Annette Demitraszek (Clerk-Treasurer) and Kristine Biernacki process the request and turn over to the possible identity thief all the information s/he could possible dream of getting. Here’s just a sample of what we can see in the documents provided by the village of Ravena clerk’s office (unlike the village of Ravena clerks, we have reproduced only the last four digits of the individual’s SSAN and Retirement No. — some of them have been scrambled but the owners will still be able to recognize them):

Beck, Edward J.

SSAN XXX – XX – 0733

Retire # XXXX2702

Bruno, Josephine P.

SSAN XXX – XX – 9128

Retire # XXXX4257

Conners, Scott D.

SSAN XXX – XX – 1470

Retire # XXXX2583

Court, Alan D. Sr.

SSAN XXX – XX – 9326

Retire # XXXX2753

Golgoski, Timothy R

SSAN XXX – XX – 4806

Retire # XXXX6237

Hoyt, Vanessa L.

SSAN XXX – XX – 4335

Retire # XXXX5810

Leonard, Jason T.

SSAN XXX – XX – 5424

Retire # XXXX8086

Shear, James M.

SSAN XXX – XX – 4686

Retire # XXXX5801

Traver, Henry C.

SSAN XXX – XX – 9985

Retire # XXXX4928

Trombley, Joel K. Sr.

SSAN XXX – XX – 4093

Retire # XXXX2691

Van Etten, Lee C.

SSAN XXX – XX – 8490

Retire # XXXX6694

Disclaimer: Since the above information and other information contained in the documents was produced and disclosed by the village of Ravena’s clerk’s office, and was disclosed and released in response to a demand made under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law, we reasonably presume that it was made public by an official act of the Ravena village clerk prior to our publication; consequently we assume no liability for its publication here. It’s obviously out there now, thanks to the Ravena clerks.

It’s really comical to see these morons in action. They don’t provide what the law says they have to provide but they provide what the law says they must not provide. Nancy Warner and her minions Annette Demitraszek (Clerk-Treasurer) and Kristine Biernacki and the rest of those humanoids in Ravena village hall are living proof of the walking brain dead.

Residents and taxpayers/property owners in the village of Ravena should also be aware that Demitrazek and Biernacki are Bruno appointees! Yes! They were appointed by former mayor John Bruno and his hatchet-faced sidekick Nancy Warner. Make no mistake about it, when Bruno appointed you it wasn’t for your brains! You had to leave your brain at the door and follow orders from Bruno and Warner. What we don’t understand is Why? incoming mayor William Misuraca didn’t show some leadership and replace the whole lot when he took office! Being a wuss just set him up to be embarrassed by the leftovers from the last corrupt administration. Shame on you, Misuraca!

The Privacy Act vs.the Freedom of Information Laws

ThePrivacy Act of 1974, as amended at 5 U.S.C. 552a, protects records that can be retrieved from a system of records by personal identifiers such as a name, social security number, or other identifying number or symbol. (A system of records is any grouping of information about an individual under the control of a public agency from which information is retrievable by personal identifiers).

An individual is entitled to access to his or her records and to request correction of these records by stating the reasons for such actions with supporting justification showing how the record is untimely, incomplete, inaccurate or irrelevant. The Privacy Act prohibits disclosure of these records without written individual consent unless one of the twelve disclosure exceptions enumerated in the Act applies.These records are held in Privacy Act systems of records. These notices identify the legal authority for collecting and storing the records, individuals about whom records will be collected, what kinds of information will be collected, and how the records will be used (See http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/bluebook/toc.htm).

WARNING: If you provide any personal information to the village of Ravena be prepared for the possibility that they’ll share it indiscriminately. These documents and the information they contain are clear proof that the village of Ravena’s clerk office staff are or were incompetent, and it certainly puts Ms Nancy Warner in a very embarrassing position, given her role as dominatrix in the clerk’s office and domineering its staff for so many years!

This unconscionable and gross violation of these individuals’ and likely countless others’ privacy rights, and the potential of exposing them to identity theft, by the inept and incompetent village of Ravena clerk’s office will and should result in any number of claims and lawsuits against the village of Ravena and its employees by these current and past victims of the clerks’ incompetence and ignorance. Clearly those former employees like Vanessa Hoyt who suffered indignities at the hands of the Bruno-Warner machine have yet another cause for action. Our recommendation to the others whose personal information has been unlawfully disclosed: Demand that the inept clerks be terminated!Demand Nancy Warner’s resignation!Notify and file a complaint with the state and federal authorities!File your lawsuits!Anyone else who thinks the village of Ravena has their personal information on file should immediately contact the village of Ravena and demand to know what precautions are being implemented to safeguard your personal information, and demand to know how that information is being used!

We have received a confirmed report that the Coeymans town board has terminated Coeymans police officer Danielle Crosier.

Crosier has been an item of ongoing scandal and controversy since former Coeymans police chief Gregory “Dumplington” Darlington added the blond bimbo to his trophy shelf about two years ago. Her major claim to fame was her notorious bad driving; she was such a bad driver that the RCS high school put her on as a road safety instructor. Go figure.

Crosier was so bad behind the wheel of a motor vehicle that she recently rammed a parked NYS vehicle in the South Pearl Street NYS motor vehicles parking lot while allegedly transporting a minor to Family Services. Yup! And the RCS central school district, your board of education, turned her loose to be a road safety instructor. Say! Anyone know what happened to that investigation?

Crosier was also installed at the RCS high school as RSO (Resource Safety Officer) where she wasted no time harassing the students, doing illegal searches, and doing one of the wrestling coaches too!

We’ve been pressing to get rid of that blond bimbo for some time now; Crosier was a useless piece of baggage.

The Coeymans town board also accepted the resignation of Coeymans police officer Scott Kline.

On the Street: Ravena to Eliminate the Ravena Fire Department. Fact or Fiction?

There’s another breaking story but is still unconfirmed that the village of Ravena is considering eliminating the Ravena Fire Department and entering into an agreement with the town of Coeymans for firefighting services. This would be a very smart move on Ravena’s part and would save Ravena a couple of hundred grand, more if they sell off the existing equipment. Such a move, if done right, would also help the town of Coeymans utilize its resources to capacity, while setting the stage for more advanced training and possibly some more grant money. Let’s see if this one pans out.

If anyone has any info to share, please let us know at rcs.confidential@gmail.com.